Resource Library

Studies of the Systemwide Effects of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria aims to attract, manage, and disburse resources that will make a significant and sustainable impact on the three focal diseases. The Global Fund has also stated its commitment to support programs that address the three diseases "in ways that contribute to the strengthening of health systems." The Global Fund is likely to have a variety of direct and indirect effects upon health care systems that could be positive or negative in nature. To be effective and sustainable in the long run, interventions will depend upon well-functioning health systems. This is true not only for the Global Fund, but also for other initiatives, such as the World Bank Multisectoral AIDS Program (MAP), the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and others that aim to substantially increase the scale of response to specific diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS. The Systemwide Effects of the Fund (SWEF) Research Network is a collaborative research network, composed of research organizations in the South and the North, that seeks to understand how monies being disbursed by the Global Fund, as well as other significant sources of funding for AIDS, TB, and malaria affect the broader health care systems of recipient countries. The SWEF Research Network is committed to addressing these difficult policy questions in a timely, empirical, and objective manner that is sensitive to the complex policy environment within which initiatives like the Global Fund operate. The SWEF network strives to engage key stakeholders, at the national and global level, in conceptualizing the research, interpreting study findings, and considering implications for policy.